Small Town Cold Case Semi-Solved

While most parents get to see their children get older, Elizabeth McDonald’s daughter Megan will forever be 20 years old. Megan McDonald was born on May 2, 1982, to a loving family. She grew up in Orange County, New York, with her sister Karen. In an interview with NBC News, Karen described her sister as “extremely compassionate.” Others described Megan as a responsible and kind person. Megan graduated from Burke High School in 2000 and attended college at SUNY Orange. Yet, Megan was never given the chance to live her life.

March 13, 2003, seemed like a regular day to Megan and everyone in her life. According to timelines on the Justice for Megan website and the Times Herald Record, Megan went to work, the bank, and a friend’s house. On March 14th and 15th, Megan was unreachable. Her family began to worry as their phone calls went unanswered, and she missed a shift at her job.

March 15, 2003: The day everything changed for the McDonald family. Around 1 pm, two men were walking around their property in Middletown when they spotted the body of a young woman who appeared to have been brutally beaten. The men called police immediately, who identified the body as Megan’s. Later, the police found Megan’s Mercury Sable in a nearby apartment parking lot.

For 20 years, Megan’s case was cold— no leads, no person of interest, and no information whatsoever. However, in the beginning of 2022, the FBI picked up the case. The FBI created a profile of who they believe could have committed this crime, where they described Megan’s killer as a narcissist and that she was a victim of intimate partner violence (also known as domestic violence). Within a year of their involvement, they found a new lead suspect.

On April 20th of this year, Edward Holley of Waywayanda was charged with the murder of Megan McDonald. McDonald and Holley had been dating until just a few days before her murder. Police were able to charge him using new DNA evidence and his cellphone records. According to official police documents, Holley owed McDonald around $3000, and despite them having broken up, they were meeting to discuss him repaying her. Police theorize that Holley simply “snapped” and didn’t want to pay her back. McDonald had been seeing another man and Holley was extremely jealous. In the week before the murder, bystanders called the police upon witnessing a violent altercation between Holley and McDonald, proving the FBI profile. Holley maintains his innocence and claims to have “loved” Megan.

After 20 years of waiting, Megan’s family is looking forwards to seeking justice for her, but that's going to be a long road. On April 27th, Holley was released from police custody. While he is still accused of second degree murder and will face trial, fighting and confusion between the state police and District Attorney caused Holley to be released from police custody. If he is convicted, he could face 20 years to life in prison.